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n :r esnmnnr LOUOIIOI'IYE BOILBB FIRE BOX'. PPLIUTIDI YILED 00T. $1, 100B. IBIE'BD JULY 6| 1910.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

l s "nu on.. Hummm u HENRY J'. GEBHARDT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOCOMOTIVE-BOILER FIRE-BOX.

Speeication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

' Application led October 21, 1808, Serial No. 458,7846. Renewed July 5, 1910. Serial N0. 570,395.

To all wlw'm. it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Granma, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, haveinvented certa-in new and useful Improvements in Locomotive-Boiler Fire-Boxes, of which the following is a full, true, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in boilers and boiler furnaces and has particular reference to improvements in stationary boilers of the locomotive t The obj ect of my invention is to increase the elliciency of such boilers and to im rove the combustion of fuel in the fire xes thereof.

A special object of my invention is to provide a substantially smokeless locomotive boiler furnace.

My invention consists primarily in a boiler of the locomotive type and a firebox therein which is lined with refractory material, in combination with a wall of refractory material rising from the bottom of the lirebox and positioned intermediately in the rebox and a grate arranged between the said wall and the rear end of the iirebox, said wall dividing the trebox into fire and combustion chambers.

My invention also consists in various details of construction and in combinations of arts, all hereinafter described and particuarly point-ed out in the claims. invention will be more readily underby reference to the accompanying drawin forming a part of this specification an in which;

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a boiler and furnace embodying my invention; Fi 2 is a vertical section thereof, on the line -X of Fig. 1; Fi 3 is a similar section on the line Z-Z of ig. 1.

In the drawings, 2, re resents the locomotive boiler shell. This is enlarged at the rear end and contains the lirebox. The rebox conforms to the shape of the rear portion of the shell, but is smaller than the same. The walls of the lirebox are constituted by the flue sheet, 3, the rear end sheet, 4, the slde sheets, 5-5, and the crown sheet, 6. As a rule the crown and side sheets are formed from one sheet of metal. The firebox sheets are joined to the shell by the usual stay bolts but these being common are not shown herein. The mud ring, 7, unites the shell and .the rebox sheets at the lower edges and the irebox, being smaller than the shell, 1s mclosed by the usuel front, rear and side water legs, 8, 9 and lll-10.

11 represents the front flue sheet of the boiler and 19.-1'2, the liues which extend between the iue sheets, 3 and 11; these formmg the smoke outlet of the frebox. The .smoke box, 11', at the front end of the boiler 1s of ordinary form.

13 represents a fuel door and 14 an ash' pit door, both in the rear end of the boiler.

15-15 are two doors in the front wall of the fire box, the use of which will be explained hereinafter.

The bottom of the rebox is formed by a concrete bed, 16, ha a raised portion, 16. The up part of te lirebox contains a grou o water circulating tubes, 17. These are htly inclined from the rear toward the front of the irebox and extend from the rear sheet, 4, to the upper part of the flue sheet, 3. The tubes su port a. substantially horizontal wall or roo 18, composed of refractory bricks. This roof or rebox to extends from flue sheet to end sheet an from one side sheet to the other, completely closing oft' the upper part of the firebox and protecting the crown sheet from the direct eat thereof. The space, A, between the crown sheet and the refractory roof, 18, is reached throu a door openin 19, in the rear end of e boiler, norma y closed by the door, 20.

As shown I line the interior of the irebox with bricks, 21. These bricks are made of refractory material and are suitably secured in place a inst the side sheets and those portions ofgthe iiue sheet and the rear sheet which are not occupied by the lines and the` door openings. I divide the iirebox into two parts B and C, by means of a bridge wall, D, the part, B, being the lire chamber and the part, C, the combustion chamber of the furnace. The bridge wall, D, is built upon the raised portion, 16 of the bed, 16, and rises to a point close beneath the refractory roof, 18, and hence nearly to the level of the upper iues, 12. The o enin E, remaining between the top of e-'bri ge wall and the roof, 18, is termed the throat of the furnace and its area closely corres onds to the combined areas of the liues, 2. The brid e wall is in some cases arranged nearer the flue sheet, than the rear sheet of the lirehox, as shown in the drawings, but in other cases I place the bridge wall substantially at the middle of the firebox and make the tire chamber of substantially the same size as the combustion chamber, C. The fuel grate, 22 instead of extending from the rear of the tirebox to the flue sheet, as 1n other locomotive boilers is of about half the lenvth of the firebox, terminating at the brid e wall, l). The grate is supported on suita le transverse members, 22.

I will now describe in det-ail the bridge wall, D, which constitutes au essential feature in my invention.

In the upper part of the lirebox are two water tubes, 23 and 24. These extend through and between the side sheets, 5. One is placed directly above the other. Beneath these tubes are two relatively inclined series or rows of tubes, 25 and 26. These tubes promote the circulation of Water 1n the Water legs, 10, and all of the tubes, (24, 25, 26) are slightly inclined to insure the free and rapid circulation of water. I prefor that the tubes. 25 and 26, shall be inclined in opposite directions as the contrary circulation currents produced thereby set up a most desirable agitation of the contents of the side water legs. These tubes, 25 and 26 serve to support the rows of bricks, 27 27, the inner sides of which are provided with grooves, 28, to fit the tubes. The lou-'ermost bricks, 2, rest upon the floor, 16. The uppermost bricks, 27, rise to a point close beneath the tube, 24, and therewith su port the rows of wedge shaped bricks, 2T 2'T. Inverted U shaped ricks, 29, cover and rest u on the tubes, 23, and form the top of the bridge wall. All of the bricks which are used are capable of withstanding the hivh temperature which is attained in the rbox and when in use the bricks attain an almost incandescent condition. The space bet-Ween the relatively inclined walls composed of bricks, 2, is referably filled with refractory material, a so having large capacity for heat.

The operation of my invention is as follows: W'hen a fire is built upon the grate the gases and combustible particles liberated from the fuel rise in the lire chamber. As a. partial vacuum exists in the lire chamber the gases tend to move directly toward the ilues or smoke outlet of the rebox, but are prevented from so doing by the bridge wall.

mpact of the currents of gas and a1r upon the walls, the roof and the brid l wall causes the deflection of the gases an results in the thorough admixture of gaseous substances and vapors at the throat E. Vigo ous combustion is thus promoted and caused to occur in proximity to the throat and on passing the throat the gases enter the combustion chamber. The gases on entering the large combustion chamber lose velocit and therefore are given lample time in which to combine und burn. As a result substantially perfect combustion occurs before the gases enter the tlues of the boiler. The bridge wall as here described, co-acts with the roof to deflect and a-dmix the lirebox n'ases and it has a further function which is best expressed in a term which I apply thereto, to-wit, the term combustion stabilizer. The large body of refractory material which compases the bridge becomes intensely hot and being located in the middle of the combustion space it tends to maintain the temperature therein and in a large measure prevents sudden fluctuations of temperature which might cause poor combustion. Thus at times that the fuel door is opened and when cold air rushes into the tirebox, the temperature of the gases therein is reduced, but the refractory body or bridge gives ofi' so much heat as to approximately and quickly restore the gases to normal temperature. The refractory linings and roof of the iirebox assist in this control, or regulation of temperature. It will be obvious also that although the travel of the gases between the grate and the flue sheet is enger than usual, the conditions for combustion in the chamber, C, are such as to insuresubstantially complete combustion for the reason th it the temperature in the cha-1nber, C, is p 'a-ctically constant due to the alternate absorption and radiation of heat by the large mass which is interposed between the chambers, B and C. It follows therefore that the opening of the fuel door has but slight elfect upon the temperature in the combustion chamber and even when the tire chamber, B, is filled witha-non-burning smoky body of gas, these gases on pass ing into the combustion chamber are im mediately ignited. The combustion chamber possesses all of the advantages of a cinder and ash well; and because of the expan sion of the burnin gases in the combustion chamber, such soli s are precipitated therein and not allowed to pass into the flues. The cinders and ashes which accumulate in the bottom of the combustion chamber may be readily removed through the cleanout doors, 15, and these doors may be opened for that purpose at any time.

As various modilications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, I do not confine the invention to the specific structures herein shown and described.

Having thus described by invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A locomotive frebox having a linin of refractory material and closed at the ottom, in combination with a plurality of transverse circulating tubes connecting the sides of the firebox, a plurality of refractory bricks lodged upon and supported by said tubes constituting e bridge wall which rises from the bottom of the rebox to a point close to the roof thereof, a grate arranged above the bottom of the Iirebox and between said bridge wall and the rear end of the {ire-box and suitable fuel and ash pit doors, substantially as described.

2. A locomotive boiler and its fire-box, in combination with o, linin of refractory material in said fire-box, a d or base closing the bottom of said fire-box, a plurality o series of circulatin tubes connecting the side legs of the boi er and inclined within the fire-box,l a pluralit of rows of refractory bricks supported y seid tubes constitilting a bridge wall which rises from said body or base to :t point close to the top of the irebox, e grate in the rear part of the {irebox, suitable fuel and ash doors and u cleanout door or doors in the front end of the frebox, substantially as described.

3. A locomotive boiler and its iirebox.I in combination with two vertical series of transverse water tubes connecting the side water legs of the boiler, said tubes being inclined and certain thereof being oppositely inclined with relation to others, a refractory bridge wall supgorted by said tubes and rising from the ottom of the rebox to a point near the roof thereof, a grate between the bridge well and the rear end of the furnace and suitable fuel and ash doors, substantially as described.

4. A locomotive boiler and its Iirebox, in combination with two relatively inclined series of circulatin tubes connecting the side water legs of t e boiler and arran midway of the ends of the firebox, the tu s in said series being oppositely inclined to remote the agitation of the water in said egs and rows of refractory bricks arranged between and supported by said tubes and formin a bridge wall which is substantially triangu ar in cross section, substantially as descrlbed.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 16th da of October, 1908, in the presence of two subserib' witnesses.

H. J. GE HARDT.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR W. NELSON, J ons R. LEFEVRE. 

